ST PETERSBURG (Voice of Russia): Russia has expressed readiness to resume trilateral talks with the United States and Ukraine in early November. In a meeting with US President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff that lasted about three hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear that Moscow is in principle ready to restart the talks around November 10.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists that the meeting between President Putin and Steve Witkoff, held on Wednesday, took place in a detailed and open atmosphere, and covered a number of important matters, including a settlement of the Ukraine conflict, the resumption of trilateral talks, Russia-US economic cooperation, and a possible high-level meeting in China.
According to Yuri Ushakov, the meeting had been arranged several days earlier, and it was the ninth meeting between President Putin and Steve Witkoff. He said such meetings are an important continuation of the regular telephone contacts between the presidents of Russia and the United States.
He said US negotiator Jared Kushner was also due to take part in the meeting, but because he was unwell he could not reach St Petersburg and joined the talks via video link.
According to the Russian presidential aide, the central topic of the meeting was the situation in Ukraine. Steve Witkoff informed President Putin about the talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, representatives of European countries, NATO and the European Commission in the Norwegian capital Oslo.
He said the US envoy also gave President Putin details of the new approaches and proposals presented by Kyiv and European countries for settling the Ukraine conflict.
Yuri Ushakov said that, following on from the telephone conversation between President Putin and US President Donald Trump on October 9, various possibilities for establishing lasting peace in Ukraine were discussed.
According to him, the possible mechanism for resuming trilateral talks between representatives of Russia, the United States and Ukraine was discussed in detail.
The Russian presidential aide said President Putin informed Steve Witkoff that Russia is in principle ready to resume the trilateral talks around November 10, whose main topic will be the establishment of a security system for Russia and Ukraine.
According to Yuri Ushakov, President Putin also informed the US envoy about the situation of the ongoing military operations in Ukraine. The Russian president said Russian forces hold a strategic advantage on the battlefield and are continuing to advance in all important directions.
He said President Putin also informed the US envoy about the Russian military’s retaliatory strikes on defense industry centers, energy installations and logistics centers in Ukraine.
According to the Russian presidential aide, the meeting also discussed matters relating to implementation of the agreement on the supply of diesel from Russia to the United States and world markets. The agreement was reached during the telephone conversation between President Putin and President Trump on October 9.
Yuri Ushakov said both sides agreed that the diesel supply agreement is in the interest of both Russia and the United States and will help stabilize supply and demand in the global fuel market.
He said that after the exemption of certain US sanctions on Russian diesel, practical work on the agreement has begun.
The meeting also included detailed discussion of the prospects for major joint economic projects between Russia and the United States. According to Yuri Ushakov, some of these projects are close to being launched, and important opportunities for economic cooperation exist between the two countries.
He said President Putin also expressed interest in more joint work between the two countries, particularly cooperation at the level of the intelligence agencies.
According to the Russian presidential aide, the meeting also discussed a possible trilateral meeting of the presidents of Russia, the United States and China on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
He said President Putin presented some practical proposals regarding a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to Yuri Ushakov, China is preparing for this possible historic meeting, and in favorable circumstances it could be included in the program of the summit in Shenzhen.
He clarified that none of Moscow, Washington and Beijing has ruled out the possibility of a meeting of the three countries’ presidents.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, described the meeting between President Putin and Steve Witkoff as purposeful.
He said the meeting lasted about three hours, or a little more, and the talks took place in the usual professional atmosphere.
Peskov clarified that no agreement has yet been reached on the US special envoy’s next visit to Russia.
He confirmed that Jared Kushner also took part in the meeting via video conference.
Russia’s special presidential envoy for investment and economic cooperation and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, also described the meeting between President Putin and Steve Witkoff as extremely productive.
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